FDA Alert: Ground Cinnamon Products (2024)

March 6, 2024

Audience

• All consumers
• All retailers

What is the problem?

Through product testing, the FDA has determined that the ground cinnamon products listed in the table below contain elevated levels of lead and that prolonged exposure to these products may be unsafe.

The FDA is advising consumers to throw away and not to buy these ground cinnamon products. The FDA has recommended that the firms voluntarily recall these products, with the exception of the MTCI cinnamon. The FDA has been unable to reach MTCI to share our findings and request that the company initiate a recall. The FDA will update this notice with the communications from firms that voluntarily agree to recall as we receive them.

Recommendations for consumers

• The FDA is advising consumers to stop using and dispose of these products.
• Consumers should not eat, sell, or serve ground cinnamon products listed in the table belowand should discard them.
• These products have a long shelf life. Consumers should check their homes and discard these products.
• If there’s suspicion that someone has been exposed to elevated levels of lead, talk to your healthcare provider. Most people have no obvious immediate symptoms of lead exposure.

Products

Who to Contact

Health care professionals, patients and consumers are encouraged to report complaints and cases of exposure and adverse events to the FDA’s MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program.

To report acomplaintoradverse event(illness or serious allergic reaction), you can

• Call an FDAConsumer Complaint Coordinatorif you wish to speak directly to a person about your problem.
• Complete anelectronic Voluntary MedWatch formonline.
• Complete apaper Voluntary MedWatch formthat can be mailed to FDA.

Submit Questions/Get Assistance

Purpose

The FDA is advising consumers to throw away and not to buy the ground cinnamon products listed above because samples of these products were found to contain elevated levels of lead. Based on FDA’s assessment, prolonged exposure to these products may be unsafe and could contribute to elevated levels of lead in the blood. Long-term exposure (months to years) to elevated levels of lead in the diet could contribute to adverse health effects, particularly for the portion of the population that may already have elevated blood lead levels from other exposures to lead. No illnesses or adverse events have been reported to date in association with these products.

While the ground cinnamon products in this alert may not be a food targeted to young children, cinnamon is used in many foods young children consume. Consistent with the agency’sCloser to Zero initiative, which focuses on reducing childhood exposure to lead, the agency is recommending voluntary recall of the products listed above because prolonged exposure to the products may be unsafe. Removing the ground cinnamon products in this alert from the market will prevent them from contributing elevated amounts of lead to the diets of children.

Summary and Scope of the Problem

Following the October 2023 recall of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce products due to elevated lead levels linked to the cinnamon in those products and the concern for lead toxicity in children, the FDA initiated a targeted survey of ground cinnamon products from discount retail stores and analyzed the samples for lead and chromium.

Based on results from the survey, the FDA is recommending recalls of ground cinnamon from six distributors whose products had elevated lead levels ranging from 2.03 to 3.4 parts per million (ppm) (see table above for a full list of lead levels in these products). These levels are significantly lower than the levels of lead associated with theongoing investigation into ground cinnamon from Ecuador supplied by Negasmart to Austrofoods, the manufacturer of the apple puree and applesauce products, which were between 2,270 ppm to 5,110 ppm in the cinnamon.

In addition to the FDA’s sampling and analysis, some states also analyzed samples of cinnamon through theLaboratory Flexible Funding Model. This is a cooperative agreement with states to help investigate, monitor and remove adulterated foods from commerce and aid regulatory programs. The Maryland and Missouri Departments of Health collected cinnamon samples included in this safety alert.

FDA Actions

The FDA will continue to work with manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to remove unsafe products from the market, and to further investigate the sources of the lead contamination as appropriate.

The FDA is also continuing itsToxicElementsmonitoring program, which includes testing of a variety of foods including colored spices offered for sale in the U.S. Our sampling at import has prevented some cinnamon with elevated lead levels from entering U.S. commerce; however, like all of our surveillance activities, these monitoring programs only evaluate a subset of the commodity being imported. FDA will follow-up on these findings as well as continue our activities at import to prevent unsafe cinnamon from reaching consumers in the U.S., including by adding firms and products toimport alertwhere appropriate. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the manufacturers and the importers to ensure the safety of the products that enter into the U.S. market.

The FDA also sent aletterto all cinnamon manufacturers, processors, distributors, and facility operators in the U.S. reminding them of the requirement to implement controls to prevent contamination from potential chemical hazards in food, including in ground cinnamon products. The FDA will continue to work with firms to ensure they are meeting their responsibilities under provisions of theCurrent Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food rule.

Potential Health Effects

Based on FDA’s assessment, consuming these products could contribute to elevated levels of lead in the blood. Long-term exposure (months to years) to elevated levels of lead in the diet could contribute to adverse health effects, particularly for the portion of the population that may already have elevated blood lead levels from other exposures to lead. If you are concerned that you or anyone in your family may have symptoms of lead toxicity, the FDA recommends you contact your healthcare provider.  

The potential for adverse health effects from consuming food contaminated with lead vary depending on the level of lead in the food; age of the consumer; length, amount, and frequency of exposure to lead in the food; and other exposures to different sources of lead. For example, the very young are particularly vulnerable to the potential harmful effects from lead exposure because of their smaller body sizes and rapid metabolism and growth. High levels of exposure to lead in utero, infancy, and early childhood can lead to neurological effects such as learning disabilities, behavior difficulties, and lowered IQ.

FDA’s Advice to Help Protect Against the Effects of Lead

Good nutrition – like meeting the recommendations in theDietary Guidelines for Americans– can help protect against the health effects from exposure to lead. Eating a variety of healthy foods can make it less likely for an individual to be exposed to the same contaminant from the same food many times and helps to provide the range of nutrients needed for health and, for children, healthy development. Having adequate nutrients stored in the body also can help to prevent lead from having harmful effects. To get adequate food variety, FDA recommends that consumers eat many different foods from the five food groups – vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, and protein foods – and to alternate how often you provide the same food.

Additional Information

• Lead in Food and Foodwares
• Health Effects of Lead Exposure | CDC
• A Conversation with FDA on Steps the Agency is Taking to Address Unsafe Levels of Lead Found in Cinnamon
• Help Protect Children from Environmental Contaminants: Healthy Food Choices for Your Baby Aged 6-12 Months